Stanford Doerr School of Sustainability
Showing 1,101-1,200 of 1,355 Results
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Debbie Senesky
Associate Professor of Aeronautics and Astronautics, of Electrical Engineering, Senior Fellow at the Precourt Institute for Energy and Associate Professor, by courtesy, of Photon Science
BioDebbie G. Senesky is an Associate Professor at Stanford University in the Aeronautics and Astronautics Department and the Electrical Engineering Department. In addition, she is the Principal Investigator of the EXtreme Environment Microsystems Laboratory (XLab). Her research interests include the development of nanomaterials for extreme harsh environments, high-temperature electronics for Venus exploration, and microgravity synthesis of nanomaterials. In the past, she has held positions at GE Sensing (formerly known as NovaSensor), GE Global Research Center, and Hewlett Packard. She received the B.S. degree (2001) in mechanical engineering from the University of Southern California. She received the M.S. degree (2004) and Ph.D. degree (2007) in mechanical engineering from the University of California, Berkeley. Prof. Senesky is the Site Director of nano@stanford. She is currently the co-editor of two technical journals: IEEE Journal of Microelectromechanical Systems and Sensors. In recognition of her research, she received the Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers (PECASE) in 2025, Emerging Leader Abie Award from AnitaB.org in 2018, Early Faculty Career Award from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) in 2012, Gabilan Faculty Fellowship Award in 2012, and Sloan Ph.D. Fellowship from the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation in 2004.
Prof. Senesky's career path and research has been featured by Scientific American, Seeker, People Behind the Science podcast, The Future of Everything radio show, Space.com, and NPR's Tell Me More program. More information about Prof. Senesky can be found at https://xlab.stanford.edu and on Instagram (@astrodebs). -
Ross Shachter
Associate Professor of Management Science and Engineering
Current Research and Scholarly InterestsProf. Shachter's research has focused on the representation, manipulation, and analysis of uncertainty and probabilistic reasoning in decision systems. As part of this work, he developed the DAVID influence diagram processing system for the Macintosh. He has developed models scheduling patients for cancer follow-up, and analyzing vaccination strategies for HIV and Helobacter pylori.
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He Shan
Postdoctoral Scholar, Energy Science and Engineering
BioHe Shan obtained a joint Ph.D. in Energy and Engineering Thermophysics from Shanghai Jiao Tong University and National University of Singapore. His research focuses on functional soft materials and thermal engineering design for water-energy systems. Working with his supervisor, Prof. Ruzhu Wang, he studies atmospheric water harvesting systems that extract clean water from arid air. His work includes developing a thermodynamic framework for hygroscopic materials and proposing new cyclic operating principles for water harvesting systems. These advances have been translated into a spin-off company and demonstrated in real arid climates. He received his M.S. from Chongqing University and was awarded the Shanghai Jiao Tong University Academic Star in 2023.
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Benjamin Shapero
Ph.D. Student in Earth System Science, admitted Autumn 2020
BioI am a geomicrobiologist and am broadly interested in the connections between protein biochemistry, environmental microbiology, and biogeochemistry. I hail from the surf town of Encinitas near San Diego. I completed my undergraduate studies at the University of Southern California (USC), where I majored in both Biological Sciences and Classical Saxophone Performance. At USC I volunteered in a cellular and molecular neuroscience lab, and it was there that I discovered my fascination with proteins. After graduation, I worked in a vaccine design lab at Scripps Research. This research fostered my growing fascination with protein biochemistry and further exposed me to the realm of microbiology. I have since followed my interests in proteins and microbiology, along with my longstanding passion for climate science, to the field of geomicrobiology. I am currently pursuing a Ph.D. in geomicrobiology at Stanford University in the Earth System Science department.
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Rohan Sharma
Ph.D. Student in Geophysics, admitted Autumn 2025
Masters Student in Geophysics, admitted Autumn 2026BioI’m a Ph.D. student in the Department of Geophysics. My research explores the applications of quantum computing and scientific machine learning to geophysical problems, with a focus on modeling, inversion, and uncertainty quantification.
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Kassandra Sharp
Senior Web Developer, Stanford Doerr School of Sustainability - Dean's Office
Current Role at StanfordSenior Web Developer for Stanford School of Earth, Energy & Environmental Sciences, Dean's Office, developing back end infrastructure for school, department, program, and research group web sites as well as special projects and other areas of interest.
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Zhi-Xun Shen
Paul Pigott Professor of Physical Sciences, Professor of Applied Physics, of Physics and Senior Fellow at the Precourt Institute for Energy
Current Research and Scholarly InterestsDr. Shen's main research interest lies in the area of condensed matter and materials physics, as well as the applications of materials and devices. He develops photon based innovative instrumentation and advanced experimental techniques, ranging from angle-resolved photoemission to microwave imaging, soft x-ray scattering and time domain spectroscopy and scattering. He has created a body of literature that advanced our understanding of quantum materials, including superconductors, semiconductors, novel magnets, topological insulators, novel carbon and electron emitters. He is best known for his discoveries of the momentum structure of anisotropic d-wave pairing gap and anomalous normal state pseudogap in high temperature superconductors. He has further leveraged the advanced characterization tool to make better materials through thin film and interface engineering.
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Bill Sherrod
Hopkins Marine Station Associate Director, Hopkins Marine Station
BioBill is the Associate Director of Hopkins Marine Station, where he is responsible for the strategic planning and execution of the station’s infrastructure and facility operations. He also guides government and community relations on its behalf.
Bill joined Stanford after serving as the principal of Trident Advisory Group, a consulting firm providing strategic guidance to technology startups, regional economic development organizations, and higher education institutions. An International Coaching Federation-educated coach, he serves as a Fellow at Ordinary Hero Coaching. He also serves on the Monterey County Military and Veteran Affairs Commission, the Pacific Grove Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors, and is a member of the Center for Ocean Leadership's Strategic Advisory Committee.
Previously, Bill served for 29 years in the US Navy, where he led from the small-unit to the enterprise level in various roles of increasing responsibility across maritime operations, aviation, special operations, installation management, and higher education administration. His operational experience spans from blue-water small-craft operations to Nimitz-class nuclear-powered aircraft carrier operations, and includes nearly 2,000 hours flying the SH-60B Seahawk multi-mission helicopter in support of operations ranging from humanitarian assistance to counter-terrorism activities. He held executive leadership roles managing a 42,000-acre multi-service Department of Defense installation. Bill's military career concluded at the Naval Postgraduate School, where he served as Chief of Staff. He established the Office of Strategic Initiatives, serving as its director, and developed the institution's strategic framework. He also served as the Director, President’s Action Group; the Deputy Director (Navy) of the Naval Warfare Studies Institute; the Assistant Chief of Staff for Aviation Activities; and the Air Warfare Chair, providing professional mentorship and guidance to designated and prospective Naval Aviators. -
Aditi Sheshadri
Assistant Professor of Earth System Science and Center Fellow, by courtesy, at the Woods Institute for the Environment
BioI am an assistant professor in Stanford's Earth System Science department. Prior to this, I was a Junior Fellow of the Simons Foundation in New York, and a postdoctoral research scientist at Columbia University’s Department of Applied Physics and Applied Math and the Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory. I got my Ph.D. in Atmospheric Science at MIT's Department of Earth, Atmospheric, and Planetary Sciences, in the Program for Atmospheres, Oceans, and Climate, where I worked with R. Alan Plumb. I’m broadly interested in atmosphere and ocean dynamics, climate variability, and general circulation.
I'm particularly interested in fundamental questions in atmospheric dynamics, which I address using a combination of theory, observations, and both idealized and comprehensive numerical experiments. Current areas of focus include the dynamics, variability, and change of the mid-latitude jets and storm tracks, the stratospheric polar vortex, and atmospheric gravity waves. -
Linda M. Dairiki Shortliffe
Stanley McCormick Memorial Professor in the School of Medicine, Emerita
Current Research and Scholarly InterestsThe timing for intervention in obstruction in the infant and child is poorly understood.Our group has been interested in trying to define the risks that may be involved in obstructive and infectious uropathies and discovering early signs of damage to the urinary tract and kidney. We have explored ways of imaging the urinary tract using nonionizing radiation (US, MRI). We have studied the relationships of sex steroid hormones, pregnancy, reflux, urinary tract infection and urinary tract function.
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Robert Siegel
Professor (Teaching) of Microbiology and Immunology
Current Research and Scholarly InterestsMy work is primarily involved in medical education and curricular development, especially in the areas of infectious disease, virology, HIV, and molecular biology. Projects included electronic applications to science education, three dimensional model building, service learning, and the development of undergraduate research projects.
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Nicholas Siemons
Research Engineer, Precourt Institute for Energy
BioNicholas began his academic career by studying integrated Masters at University College, London. During this time he published his first article, "Multiple exciton generation in nanostructures for advanced photovoltaic cells" - a review of how to produce photovoltaics with greater than 100% internal efficiencies. Following this Nicholas began research into solar voltaics and organic batteries in the group of Prof. Jenny Nelson at Imperial College, London. During this time Nicholas developed his keen interest in how to relate the chemical design of polymers to their ability to function as battery electrode materials. To achieve this goal, Nicholas applies atomistic simulation methods to such polymer systems, and relates the simulated findings to experimental results, bridging the gap between chemistry and device properties. As well as linking molecular chemical design to device performance, Nicholas applies novel simulation and analysis methodologies to study these systems, including Molecular Dynamics, Density Functional Theory, Molecular Metadynamics and Network Analysis.
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Jannis M. Simoes-Seymens
Program and Communications Coordinator, Ctr for Human and Planetary Health, Human and Planetary Health
Current Role at StanfordProgram and Communications Coordinator
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Alyson Singleton
Ph.D. Student in Environment and Resources, admitted Autumn 2021
BioAly is a PhD student in the Emmett Interdisciplinary Program in Environment & Resources, investigating the impact of large-scale global change on infectious disease transmission and broader health dynamics. Based on the concepts of One Health and Planetary Health, she focuses on the design and evaluation of win-win solutions that can synergistically benefit human and environmental health. As we anticipate widening disease disparities under increasing climate and land-use change, her research aims to identify opportunities to prevent and mitigate these compounding harms. She approaches these topics by integrating novel computational methods, field-data collection, and epidemiologic techniques.
Prior to coming to Stanford, Aly was a Data Science Fellow at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention where she developed analytic tools for outbreak detection and triage of multiple pathogens and supported the CDC’s Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) Response. She also worked at the People, Place & Health Collective at the Brown University School of Public Health while earning her undergraduate (BS, Applied Mathematics) and master's degrees (MA, Biostatistics). -
Norman Sleep
Professor of Geophysics, Emeritus
Current Research and Scholarly InterestsPhysics of large-scale processes in the Earth
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Olav Solgaard
Audrey S. Hancock Professor in the School of Engineering
BioThe Solgaard group focus on design and fabrication of nano-photonics and micro-optical systems. We combine photonic crystals, optical meta-materials, silicon photonics, and MEMS, to create efficient and reliable systems for communication, sensing, imaging, and optical manipulation.
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George Somero
David and Lucile Packard Professor in Marine Science, Emeritus
Current Research and Scholarly InterestsWe examine two aspects of organism-environment interactions: How does stress from physical (e.g., temperature) and chemical (oxygen levels, pH) factors perturb organisms and how do organisms respond, adaptively, to cope with this stress? We examine evolutionary adaptation and phenotypic acclimatization using a wide variety of marine animals, including Antarctic fishes and invertebrates from intertidal habitats on the coastlines of temperate and tropical seas.
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Suihong Song
Postdoc Res Affiliate, Mukerji Program
BioSuihong Song collaborates with Professor Tapan Mukerji at the Stanford Center for Earth Resources Forecast (SCERF) as a postdoctoral scholar. His research is centered on integrating machine learning with geosciences, specifically focusing on machine learning-based reservoir characterization and geomodelling, Physics-informed Neural Networks (PINNs) and neural operators as well as their applications in porous flow simulations, neural networks-based surrogate and inversion, decision-making under uncertainty, and machine learning-based geological interpretation of well logs and seismic data. These research endeavors have practical applications in managing underground water resources, oil and gas exploration, geological storage of CO2, and the evaluation of hydrothermal and natural hydrogen, among others.Song proposed GANSim, an abbreviation for Generative Adversarial Networks-based reservoir simulation, which presents a reservoir geomodelling workflow. This innovative approach has been successfully implemented in various 3D field reservoirs by international oil companies, including ExxonMobil.
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Maksim Sonin
Visiting Scholar, Precourt Institute for Energy
BioDr. Maksim Sonin is an energy executive who drives global investments and executes large-scale capital developments valued at over $15B across major sectors and geographies, from the Arctic to the desert, with teams spanning five continents.
Dr. Sonin has held executive roles and served on the boards of UCC (with a capital projects portfolio exceeding $10B), Silleno ($7B+ world-scale petrochemical complex), KMG Petrochem ($2B+ gas processing facility), and other organizations. He has led world-scale petrochemical, ammonia, and fertilizer complexes representing a significant share of global production and traded supply. This includes some of the world's largest plants, setting new benchmarks for single-train production capacity. He has worked with Chevron, Shell, and ExxonMobil in consortium ventures and collaborated with other players.
As a Visiting Scholar at Stanford's Precourt Institute for Energy, his current work focuses on the technical, economic, and execution challenges associated with developing and scaling energy and industrial infrastructure. A Sloan Fellow with an MS in Management from Stanford Graduate School of Business (GSB), Dr. Sonin also holds a PhD in Engineering from the Scientific Research Institute of Natural Gases and Gas Technologies, and an MS in Finance. He is an elected Fellow of the Energy Institute (UK) and the Institution of Engineering and Technology (UK). -
Andrew Spakowitz
Senior Associate Dean for Research and Faculty Affairs, Professor of Chemical Engineering, of Materials Science and Engineering and, by courtesy, of Applied Physics
Current Research and Scholarly InterestsTheory and computation of biological processes and complex materials
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Erik Sperling
Associate Professor of Earth and Planetary Sciences, Senior Fellow at the Woods Institute for the Environment and Associate Professor, by courtesy, of Oceans
Current Research and Scholarly InterestsThe research interests in the Sperling Lab are Earth history and the evolution of life, and the interactions between the biosphere and the geosphere. As such this research can generally be considered paleontology, insofar as paleontology encompasses all aspects of the history of life.
Consequently, we define our research agenda by the questions we are interested in, rather than the tools used. This research incorporates multiple lines of evidence, and multiple tools, to investigate questions in the history of life. These lines of evidence include fossil data, molecular phylogenetics, sedimentary geochemistry, and developmental and ecological data from modern organisms. Ultimately, the goal is to link environmental change with organismal and ecological response through the lens of physiology.
Our field research takes place all over the world--current areas include:
-NW Canada (Yukon and Northwest Territories): Research has been conducted on the early Neoproterozoic Fifteenmile Group, Cryogenian and Ediacaran Windermere Supergroup, and on the Ordovician-Devonian Road River Group in the southern Richardson Mountains
-Southern Canadian Cordillera: Work here has focused on the early Cambrian Mural Formation and its soft-bodied fauna.
-England and Wales: Cambrian-Silurian successions in the Welsh Basin
-Namibia: Ediacaran Nama Group
-Upwelling zones: We study the oxygen minimum zone offshore California as an analogue for ancient low-oxygen oceans. -
Adam Spitzig
Ph.D. Student in Environment and Resources, admitted Autumn 2024
Student Worker, Ethics In SocietyBioAdam Spitzig is a PhD candidate in Environment and Resources (E-IPER) at Stanford University’s Doerr School of Sustainability. He is a historical ecologist and data scientist whose research examines long-term biodiversity dynamics and their human drivers.
His work integrates paleoecological data (especially fossil pollen records), archaeological and historical sources, geospatial analysis, and statistical modeling to understand when and how human societies have increased, maintained, or reduced biodiversity. He is particularly interested in identifying cases of sustained anthropogenic biodiversity expansion and examining the institutional, economic, infrastructural, and land-use processes that produced them. His work also explores how long-term ecological knowledge can inform contemporary conservation and restoration strategy.
Before beginning his PhD, he led ecological modeling and machine learning initiatives in conservation and technology organizations, including Ducks Unlimited and several data-driven startups.
He holds a Master in Public Administration from Harvard University, a Master of Information & Data Science from UC Berkeley, a Master of Environmental Management and a Juris Doctor from Duke University, and a BA from the University of Florida. -
Alfred M. Spormann
Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering and of Chemical Engineering, Emeritus
Current Research and Scholarly InterestsMetabolism of anaerobic microbes in diseases, bioenergy, and bioremediation
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Catherine Spurin
Postdoctoral Scholar, Energy Resources Engineering
BioI am a postdoctoral researcher in the Energy Science & Engineering department. My current research is focused on understanding how subsurface heterogeneity can be exploited to increase the amount of CO2 that is residually trapped. This increases storage security and minimizes the spread of the CO2 plume. This research makes up part of the GeoCquest consortium with Melbourne University, Cambridge University and CO2CRC. My supervisors are Prof. Hamdi Tchelepi and Prof. Sally Benson.
I obtained my PhD from Imperial College London in 2021. My PhD thesis "Intermittent flow pathways for multiphase flow in porous media: a pore-scale perspective" explored how flow phenomena not included in the framework of Darcy's law extended to multiphase flow influence the propagation and trapping of fluids. My supervisors were Prof. Sam Krevor and Prof. Martin Blunt. My research was funded by the President's PhD scholarship at Imperial. -
Griffin Srednick
Postdoctoral Scholar, Oceans
BioGriffin Srednick, PhD, is an NSF Postdoctoral Research Fellow at Stanford Oceans and a community ecologist specializing in the spatiotemporal dynamics of marine communities. His postdoctoral research investigates how coral reef communities recover from disturbance and respond to the effects of climate change. Conducted within the National Science Foundation's Moorea Coral Reef (MCR) Long Term Ecological Research (LTER) program, his work examines how spatiotemporal heterogeneity in coral communities can promote ecological resilience. By integrating oceanographic modeling with coral reef ecology, his research aims to reveal the mechanisms underpinning coral recovery following disturbance. His broader scientific interests focus on understanding the complex architecture of ecosystems and how a holistic view of ecological systems can inform and enhance conservation and restoration strategies.
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Heath Stanfield
Ph.D. Student in Earth System Science, admitted Autumn 2026
Current Research and Scholarly InterestsSubsurface fluid-rock interactions for energy, resources, and carbon storage
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Jonathan Stebbins
Professor of Geological Sciences, Emeritus
Current Research and Scholarly Interestsstructure and dynamics of crystalline, glassy, and molten inorganic materials and how these relate to geologically and technologically important properties and processes; solid state Nuclear Magnetic Resoance (NMR); mineralogy; igneous petrology; glass science
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Rafael Stern
Postdoctoral Scholar, Earth System Science
BioRafael Stern’s research focuses on the natural processes and mechanisms that regulate methane exchange between tropical forests and the atmosphere. He works with a network of eddy-covariance, ecological, and meteorological research stations across the Amazon rainforest, tropical Africa, and Asia.
Rafael earned his Ph.D. in Earth and Planetary Sciences from the Weizmann Institute of Science in Rehovot, Israel, where he was advised by Professor Dan Yakir. His doctoral research used a mobile eddy-covariance system to compare the biogeophysical and biogeochemical effects of different ecosystems and photovoltaic fields in drylands. He holds an M.Sc. in Climate and Environment from the National Institute of Amazonian Research in Manaus, Amazonas, Brazil, where he was advised by Professor Paulo Artaxo and studied the physical and chemical properties of atmospheric particles during the Amazon forest-fire season. He also holds a B.Sc. in Geography from the Department of Geosciences at Universidade Federal Fluminense in Niterói, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Rafael was born and raised in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. -
David K. Stevenson, M.D.
Harold K. Faber Professor of Pediatrics and Professor, by courtesy, of Obstetrics and Gynecology and of Anesthesiology, Perioperative and Pain Medicine
Current Research and Scholarly InterestsOur research is focused on the study of the ontogeny and control of heme catabolism and bilirubin production in the developing neonate. A better understanding of the role of increased bilirubin production in neonatal jaundice and the prevention of hemolytic jaundice has remained an overall objective of our program. We are also study the causes of preterm birth and ways to prevent it.
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Joseph Dalton Stitt
Ph.D. Student in Geophysics, admitted Autumn 2021
Current Research and Scholarly InterestsDeep learning with applications in CO2 Sequestration and DAS
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Robert Street
William Alden and Martha Campbell Professor in the School of Engineering, Emeritus
Current Research and Scholarly InterestsStreet focuses on numerical simulations related to geophysical fluid motions. His research considers the modeling of turbulence in fluid flows, which are often stratified, and includes numerical simulation of coastal upwelling, internal waves and sediment transport in coastal regions, flow in rivers, valley winds, and the planetary boundary layer.
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Jenny Suckale
Associate Professor of Geophysics and, Senior Fellow, by courtesy, at the Woods Institute for the Environment
BioMy research group studies disasters to reduce the risk they pose. We approach this challenge by developing customized mathematical models that can be tested against observational data and are informed by community needs through a scientific co-production process. We intentionally work on extremes across different natural systems rather than focusing on one specific natural system to identify both commonalities in the physical processes driving extremes and in the best practices for mitigating risk at the community level. Our current research priorities include volcanic eruptions, ice-sheet instability, permafrost disintegration, induced seismicity and flood-risk mitigation. I was recently awarded the Presidential Early Career Awards for Scientists and Engineers, the highest honor bestowed by the United States Government on science and engineering professionals in the early stages of their independent research careers and the CAREER award from the National Science Foundation.
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Hanif Sulaiman
Ph.D. Student in Earth System Science, admitted Autumn 2022
BioI'm interested in the marine nitrogen cycle, particularly in nitrous oxide (N2O), a potent greenhouse gas that plays a key role in stratospheric ozone destruction. I'm focused on delineating nitrous oxide's accumulation (production-consumption) pathways in various oceanographic regions.
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Joanna Sun
Assistant Director of Student Services, Energy Science & Engineering
Current Role at StanfordStudent Services, Department of Energy Science and Engineering
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Yudong Sun
Postdoctoral Scholar, Geophysics
BioYudong's study areas are earthquake physics, numerical modeling, InSAR, glaciology, and geodynamics. He specializes in numerical simulations of earthquake cycles and dynamic ruptures, integrating models with observations and laboratory experiments. He has published papers covering topics including back-propagating ruptures, slow slip events, fault roughness, deformation of glaciers, and lithospheres.
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Veda Sunkara
Ph.D. Student in Environment and Resources, admitted Autumn 2024
BioVeda Sunkara (she/her) is an E-IPER PhD student interested in studying disaster adaptation approaches and equity in outcomes for flood-prone communities in the face of increasing extremes due to climate change. Prior to starting her PhD, she worked as a Senior Machine Learning Engineer at Floodbase (formerly Cloud to Street), where she built machine learning algorithms to create flood maps from remotely-sensed imagery, in-situ sensors, and physics-based models for disaster planning and parametric flood insurance. She seeks to combine her earth observation and machine learning expertise with community-centered research to co-develop the data necessary to enable long term adaptation and resilience to flooding. She holds a B.S. and M.S. in Computer Science from Brown University.
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James Sweeney
Professor of Management Science & Engineering, Emeritus
Current Research and Scholarly InterestsDeterminants of energy efficiency opportunities, barriers, and policy options. Emphasis on behavioral issues, including personal, corporate, or organizational. Behavior may be motivated by economic incentives, social, or cultural factors, or more generally, by a combination of these factors. Systems analysis questions of energy use.
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Joel Swisher
Adjunct Professor, Atmosphere and Energy Operations
BioJoel N. Swisher, PhD, PE, is Consulting Associate Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering at Stanford University, where he teaches graduate-level courses on greenhouse gas (GHG) mitigation (covering technical and business strategies to manage GHG risks) and electric utility planning methods (covering supply and demand-side resources, resource integration and expansion planning). His current research at Stanford addresses the integration of plug-in vehicles with the power grid and the barriers and synergies related to metering, tariffs, load management, customer incentives, and charging infrastructure.
Dr. Swisher is also an independent consultant with over 30 years experience in research and consulting on many aspects of clean energy technology. He is an expert in energy efficiency technology and policy, carbon offsets and climate change mitigation, and electric utility resource planning and economics. He has consulted with numerous utilities, manufacturers and technology companies on resource planning, energy efficiency, vehicle electrification and clean energy deployment strategies. He has also helped consumer-oriented firms design strategies to expand simple cost-saving energy investment programs into brand-building corporate sustainability campaigns.
Dr. Swisher is a thought leader in several areas of clean energy technology and business strategy. As Director of Technical Services and CTO for Camco International, Dr. Swisher helped develop carbon offset projects in reforestation, agriculture, renewable energy and building energy efficiency, and he has authored emission inventories, baseline studies and monitoring and verification plans for multilateral banks and private offset buyers. Starting in 1989, Dr. Swisher performed seminal research on carbon offset baselines and technical and economic analysis of carbon offsets in the energy and land-use sectors.
Dr. Swisher was managing director of research and consulting at Rocky Mountain Institute (RMI), where he led RMI’s consulting team in work for numerous high-profile clients, including electric utilities and producers of goods ranging from semiconductor chips to potato chips. At RMI, he created the concept of the Smart Garage, which explores the energy system synergies in which vehicle electrification helps enable zero-emission vehicles and a cleaner power grid. He led an RMI team that convened an industrial consortium (including Alcoa, Johnson Controls, Google, etc.) to develop a new, lightweight, plug-in hybrid vehicle platform for Class 2 truck fleet applications. Collaborating with the design firm IDEO to conduct interdisciplinary design workshops, the RMI team initiated a working design to attract funding and move toward production, which proceeded as a spin-off company, Bright Automotive in Indiana.
Dr. Swisher holds a Ph.D. in Energy and Environmental Engineering from Stanford University. He is a registered Professional Engineer and speaks five languages. He is author of over 100 professional publications including The New Business Climate: A Guide to Lower Carbon Emissions and Better Business Performance and a bilingual (English and Portuguese) textbook on energy efficiency program design and evaluation and integrated energy resource planning. -
Katie Taflan
Assistant Director, Explore Energy, Precourt Institute for Energy
Current Role at StanfordAssistant Director for Explore Energy, Precourt Institute for Energy
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Sindy Tang
Associate Professor of Mechanical Engineering, Senior Fellow at the Woods Institute for the Environment and Professor, by courtesy, of Radiology and of Bioengineering
Current Research and Scholarly InterestsProf. Sindy K.Y. Tang develops engineering platforms that measure biological systems and convert these measurements into quantitative datasets. Her research focuses on experimental systems that probe biological processes across cellular and tissue scales, particularly how physical context—geometry, mechanics, and spatial organization—shapes biological function. Current work spans immune diagnostics, spatial tissue sampling for multi-omics analysis, and single-cell perturbation studies.
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William Abraham Tarpeh
Associate Professor of Chemical Engineering, Senior Fellow at the Precourt Institute for Engergy and, by courtesy, of Civil and Environmental Engineering
BioReimagining liquid waste streams as resources can lead to recovery of valuable products and more efficient, less costly approaches to reducing harmful discharges to the environment. Pollutants in effluent streams can be captured and used as valuable inputs to other processes. For example, municipal wastewater contains resources like energy, water, nutrients, and metals. The Tarpeh Lab develops and evaluates novel approaches to resource recovery from “waste” waters at several synergistic scales: molecular mechanisms of chemical transport and transformation; novel unit processes that increase resource efficiency; and systems-level assessments that identify optimization opportunities. We employ understanding of electrochemistry, separations, thermodynamics, kinetics, and reactor design to preferentially recover resources from waste. We leverage these molecular-scale insights to increase the sustainability of engineered processes in terms of energy, environmental impact, and cost.
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Daniel Tartakovsky
Professor of Energy Science Engineering
Current Research and Scholarly InterestsEnvironmental fluid mechanics, Applied and computational mathematics, Biomedical modeling.
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Clyde Tatum
Obayashi Professor in the School of Engineering, Emeritus
BioTatum's teaching interests are construction engineering and technical construction. His research focuses on construction process knowledge and integration and innovation in construction.
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Hamdi Tchelepi
Max Steineke Professor and Senior Fellow at the Precourt Institute for Energy
Current Research and Scholarly InterestsCurrent research activities: (1) model and simulate unstable miscible and immiscible fluid flow in heterogeneous porous media, (2) develop multiscale numerical solution algorithms for coupled mechanics and multiphase fluid flow in large-scale subsurface formations, and (3) develop stochastic solution methods that quantify the uncertainty associated with predictions of fluid-structure dynamics in porous media.
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Faye Shen Li Thijssen
Ph.D. Student in Environmental Social Sciences, admitted Autumn 2025
BioFaye is a PhD student in Environmental Social Sciences. Her research focuses on how global institutions and powerful actors shape environmental governance structures, with particular focuses on United States overseas military basing & anti-basing social movements, and multinational corporations.
Prior to coming to Stanford, her research focused on indirect corporate influence in environmental politics, investigating executional greenwashing and its potential to affect public perceptions and preferences for regulatory policy. This research primarily employed experimental methods, with support from the Oxford Department of Politics & International Relations and the Nuffield Centre for Experimental Social Sciences. -
Leif Thomas
Professor of Earth System Science and, by courtesy, of Oceans
Current Research and Scholarly InterestsPhysical oceanography; theory and numerical modeling of the ocean circulation; dynamics of ocean fronts and vortices; upper ocean processes; air-sea interaction.
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Barton Thompson
Robert E. Paradise Professor of Natural Resources Law, Professor of Environmental Social Sciences and Senior Fellow at the Woods Institute for the Environment
BioA global expert on water and natural resources, Barton “Buzz” Thompson focuses on how to improve resource management through legal, institutional, and technological innovation. He was the founding Perry L. McCarty Director of the Stanford Woods Institute for the Environment, where he remains a Senior Fellow and directs the Water in the West program. He also has been a Senior Fellow (by courtesy) at Stanford’s Freeman-Spogli Institute for International Studies, and a visiting fellow at the Hoover Institution. He founded the law school’s Environmental and Natural Resources Program. He also is a faculty member in Stanford’s Emmett Interdisciplinary Program in Environment and Resources (E-IPER).
Professor Thompson served as Special Master for the United States Supreme Court in Montana v. Wyoming, an interstate water dispute involving the Yellowstone River system. He also is a former member of the Science Advisory Board of the United States Environmental Protection Agency. He chairs the boards of the Resources Legacy Fund and the Stanford Habitat Conservation Board, is a California trustee of The Nature Conservancy, and is a board member of the American Farmland Trust, the Sonoran Institute, and the Santa Lucia Conservancy.
Professor Thompson is of counsel to the law firm of O’Melveny & Myers, where he specializes in water resources and was a partner prior to joining Stanford Law School. He also serves as an advisor to a major impact investment fund. He was a law clerk to Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist ’52 (BA ’48, MA ’48) of the U.S. Supreme Court and Judge Joseph T. Sneed of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. -
Sonia Tikoo-Schantz
Assistant Professor of Geophysics and, by courtesy, of Earth and Planetary Sciences
BioI utilize paleomagnetism and fundamental rock magnetism as tools to investigate problems in the planetary sciences. By studying the remanent magnetism recorded within rocks from differentiated planetary bodies, I can learn about core processes that facilitate the generation of dynamo magnetic fields within the Earth, Moon, and planetesimals. Determining the longevities and paleointensities of dynamo fields that initially magnetized rocks also provides insight into the long-term thermal evolution (i.e., effects of secular cooling) of planetary bodies. I also use paleomagnetism to understand impact cratering events, which are the most ubiquitous modifiers of planetary surfaces across the solar system. Impact events produce heat, shock, and sometimes hydrothermal systems that are all capable of resetting magnetization within impactites and target rocks via thermal, shock, and chemical processes. Therefore, I am able to use a combination of paleomagnetic and rock magnetic characterization to investigate shock pressures, temperatures, structural changes, and post-impact chemical alteration experienced by cratered planetary surfaces.
